Kwame Nkrumah's speech at independence
6th March 1957
"At long last, the battle has ended! And thus Ghana,
your beloved country is free forever.
And
yet again I want to take the opportunity to thank the chiefs
and people of this country, the youth, the farmers, the women
who have so nobly fought and won this battle.
Also
I want to thank the valiant ex-service men who have so co-operated
with me in this mighty task of freeing our country from foreign
rule and imperialism.
And
as I pointed out... I made it quite clear that from now on –
today – we must change our attitudes, our minds, we must
realise that from now on, we are no more a colonial but a free
and independent people.
But
also, as I pointed out, that also entails hard work.
I
am depending upon the millions of the country, and the chiefs
and people, to help me to reshape the destiny of this country.
We
are prepared to pick it up and make it a nation that will be
respected by every nation in the world.
We
know we are going to have difficult beginnings, but again, I'm
relying upon your support, I'm relying upon your hard work.
Seeing
you in this… it doesn't matter how far my eye goes, I
can see that you are here in your millions and my last warning
to you is that you are to stand firm behind us so that we can
prove to the world that when the African is given a chance he
can show the world that he is somebody!
"Our
independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with
the total liberation of Africa."
Dr
Kwame Nkrumah 6th March 1957
We have awakened. We will not sleep anymore. Today, from now
on, there is a new African in the world!
That
new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that
after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.
We
are going to demonstrate to the world, to the other nations,
that we are prepared to lay our own foundation.
As
I said in the assembly just minutes ago, I made a point that
we are going to create our own African personality and identity.
It's the only way that we can show the world that we are ready
for own own battles.
But
today, may I call upon you all - that on this great day, let
us all remember that nothing in the world can be done unless
it's had the purport and support of God.
We
have won the battle and we again re-dedicate ourselves ... Our
independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the
total liberation of Africa.
Let
us now fellow Ghanaians, let us now ask for God's blessing and
for only two seconds in your thousands and millions, I want
to ask you to pause only for one minute and give thanks to almighty
God for having led us through our difficulties, imprisonments,
hardships and suffering to have brought us to the end of our
trouble today.
One
minute silence.
Ghana
is free forever and here I will ask the band to play the Ghana
national anthem."
Audio
excerpts from Dr Nkrumah's speech at the UN in 1960 Here